Bouquet de fleurs

Picasso and Fernande Olivier had spent four months in Horta. During the summer of 1901, Picasso's sojourn there was one of the most crucial and productive of his career, resulting in the initial conception of analytic cubism. During his visit there, Picasso strove to articulate sculptural forms within a two-dimensional plane. He further pursued the analysis of volume and weight through the use of chromatic contrasts. The transition between adjacent planes is reinforced by the striated manner in which Picasso applied the gouache. This technique allowed him to modulate the planes--to project concave and convex forms, giving the sculptural effect of light traversing the surface of the onjects. The application of the medium also allowed Picasso to achieve the effect of chiaroscuro. However, unlike the soft, smoky surfaces of Leonardo da Vinci's works, Picasso's contrasting of light and dark forms emphasize the hard-edged structure that underpins this composition.